Untitled Gawaine project!
by Lee Mayfair
Summary: They met accidentaly, and that meeting changed not only lives of the Knight and the Witch but the Destiny of the whole Kingdom. Adventures, Romance and of cource magic.  Gwaine/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, my friends. Let me introduce you my new fav character (drum rolling): Sir Gwaine, Knight of the round table! **

Disclaimer: i do not own any "Merlin" characters;

**Chapter one. Tavern**

Tavern was full of noises, smells and colors. It was mostly brutal laugh, burned food and dirty brown. Still people were enjoying themselves, not noticing any dirt or discomfort. Probably I'm just too captious. Of course, if great deal of your life you spend in a wonderful green land, full of flowers, animals and birds, full of life and beauty, the contrast with a common tavern surely would astonish you. When I first entered a tavern I was completely deafen with people's voices and chaos and constant movement. I was impressed. Now I can say that I got used to it. I've travelled for some time and now I know how to act so not to get in trouble. It's quite easy cause I'm a little fellow, plain and poor. What can you get from such a guy? Not much, so I don't have problems with people around me.

This place was not different from all the others. People were talking, drinking, eating, and laughing. I was looking for a job. Not actually looking but listening. Being as unnoticeable as I am let you learn what happens, where and how much you'll be paid if you can deal with it. I'm searching for ill and injured people, whose treatment failed and who I can help. Of course they don't usually trust wandering sixteen years old creature who claims that can cure. But sometimes they are so desperate, so let me try. And I do my best. They pay me mostly with food or clothing, some even let me stay at their places for a while. I don't have problems with guards, because I wander around small villages located far from Camelot and magic-hater Uther. And yes, I forgot to tell that I help people with magic. I'm not as good in healing as druids are, but still I manage to survive in this world.

If only I knew that today my peaceful life will be changed in such a twisted way, I would have stayed at home. Unfortunately foreseeing was not my gift.

So, I was sitting at the bar counter, my grey knitted hat was almost hiding my eyes. People at the back of the hall were getting too noisy. Tavern keeper was chatting with merchants. Something about gang in woods attacking convoy. Not my specialization. I'm trying to avoid stressful situations and dangerous occasions. So it's better not to live village now or not to go far in woods. I actually like this place, perhaps I can even stay here longer. Noise from behind me was irritating and people sitting around me turned couple of times to check on what's going on in there. The smartest one – son of cotton merchant – was sitting next to me; I think he's smartest because he left the same second as he turned around. I wish I had followed him. But I stayed because of my damn curiosity. Tavern keeper was listening attentively the tales about some mysterious events merchants were telling. They thought it was not a gang of evil men but some magical creature. Oi, people! Stop blaming magic for all your problems!

"…I've heard about it from my brother-in-law. He won't lie to me, no way man, and he saw it himself…"

"he saw… what he saw? A shadow of a tree? It was a windy day and everybody knows how your brother-in-law praise a booze!"

"He's not the only one who saw the creature. Guards still say it's a gang but how can a living person, even an evil one do such things?"

"… you heard 'bout last found victims? I can't imagine…"

His drunken speech was interrupted with loud voices and sounds of beginning fight. I was about to turn around when something big smashed on the counter right next to me! Honestly, I jumped and shut my eyes. Did I tell you that I'm trying to avoid dangerous situations?

"Now that was rude" low voice next to me mumbled. I opened right eye.

Something big turned out to be a tall man, he got up from the counter and shook his head. Next moment he was dragged away and the chaos began. Everybody was shouting, tavern keeper got a sword from under the counter but he hesitated using it. Crowd was growing. I'd better go out. Just give me a second to find a way through all those people standing around. I looked back and saw the man who earlier crushed the bar counter. He was standing his back to me and punching two guys. A scary big guy with bold head and large hands rose in front of me . He was right between me and that man. And he had knife in his hand. I don't know what I was thinking that moment. The big guy waved with a knife. I grabbed a bottle of liqueur from the bar counter and smashed it on his head. I guess I fractured his skull. Not good. He froze and crowd hushed up. Scary big guy slowly, very slowly turned to me. He's even scarier than I thought. He eyed me for a great deal of a minute and… finally fell on the floor. This guy whose life I've just saved turned around and looked on the floor than at me.

"RUN!"

He grabbed my hand and raced out of the tavern. Next ten minutes were just a crazy race. We were hiding under the market tables, jumping out of balcony and hiding in narrow alleys. And running, running a lot.

We end up on the other side of the village, dressed as two nuns or somebody like this. He headed to the old mill on the outskirts of a very nice village where I wanted to stay but completely messed up.

We finally stopped when reached the half ruined building of the mill. I was breathing heavy so was he.

"Now, that was something!" he smiled widely and I finally took a good look at cause of my troubles. He definitely was handsome. Straight nose, kind grey eyes and broad smile in genral gave him a sly look. He had a pretty long waving hair. I realized that I was staring at him and looked away.

"Thanks for help, man. I'm Gwaine by the way!" he stretched his hand. I shook it lightly with my gloved one. "Nin"

"Nin? What kind of name is that?" he chuckled.

"What kind of name is Gwaine?" I frowned. He smiled again. This man smiled a lot.

"Do you live here? In this village?"

"Not exactly. I guess now I'd better go somewhere else." I took off clothes, we've actually stolen from some merchant. Lucky I am that I have only one bag and always carry it with me.

"So, you don't have a plan, where to go?"

"Well, there is a town on the other side of the forest, probably I'll go there. Why?"

"Well, probably you don't mind my company, because I'm going the same way." He raised an eyebrow. Do I really need his company? This man is a one hundred per cent troublemaker. Well may be it would be nice to have somebody strong and armed as a companion.

"Why did those guys in Tavern attacked you?" I asked him heading for the forest. His eyes narrowed.

"Wrong place, wrong time, wrong drinks…"

**So, what do you think? R&R please ^.^**


	2. Chapter 2

**THANK YOU ALL FOR REVIEWS! i APPRECIATE IT SO MUCH!**

Chapter 2.

Forest seemed endless. It's been almost three hours of walking and only trees around us.

"Are you sure you know this way? It looks like nobody used it for…like never." I was toiling along Gawaine, and losing hope to find some place to stay. A place with roof, walls and fireplace.

"Sure. I used to walk through this woods several times. Don't worry!" Man always seemed cheerful. I was trying to hide my irritation. Why do I feel like we've already passed by this rock? Situation got even worse when twilight has fallen. I couldn't see properly the forest around me. But I actually could hear it. I heard all the slightest whispers, all the moves of the leaves. Light wind was full of far away melody, probably the one I used to listen at home. I was charmed with all those sounds and smells and blurry visions of night forest so I forgot all my troubles. Irritation flew away. But there was something strange. Some light presence. It felt like somebody was watching me, staying so close, right behind my back. But it didn't feel dangerous.

"All right. This is getting ridiculous. I swear I remember the path. It should be here. It has to." Gawaine unexpectedly stopped and I bumped into him. He turned around, frowning.

"I don't see any path." I felt sorry for the guy. I got used to sleeping in the woods during my travelling.

He seemed to be used to taverns or at least some inn. Poor Gawaine. Hey, what am I doing? Do I pity him? That was his idea to go by hidden path, while I offered to follow the road. We should've listened to me. I guess this thought was written all over my face, because Gawaine's eyes narrowed.

"Don't say a word."

"No way." I reassured him, trying to hold back laughter.

"I offer to stay here for night. It looks like a safe place. We'll collect some wood to make a fire. My friend Merlin and I quite often go somewhere, and it's always like this: fire, night sky and lovely conversation between good friends. So what do you think? "

"Sounds idyllic." Friendly conversation is the last thing I need now. But I have no choice.

Twenty minutes later we were sitting next to a small fire. Wet wood was clicking. It was night already.

Gawaine put his sword at the right side, close enough to reach it in case something happens.

"So…" he started "Nin. Where are you from? You saved my life, I want to know more of you."

"I don't think that guy would have killed you. You owe him money. So he would probably just hit you couple of times. You'd survive." Yes, I'm changing theme. I don't want to lie to him but he asks inconvenient questions.

"Anyway it was brave of such a young fellow as you are to interfere. How old are you, by the way?"

"I'm old enough to wander around the country. Let's say I'm sixteen."

"Hmm.."

"What about you Gawaine? Tell me your story. Please!" please. Tell me your story, because I'm really curious. And I don't want to feel the quiet of the forest. It's getting darker and quieter every minute. Sense of unknown presence had left but I still felt uncomfortable.

Gwaine was telling me stories of his friend Merlin. He seems to be a nice guy, this Merlin. But being at the Uther's house made him dangerous to me. Still all those adventures arouse suspicion. Merlin seemed extremely lucky. As if he had a guardian, somebody who protected him from troubles. Somebody special. Somebody magical?

"…so Uther sent me away. Again." Gawaine had finished another tale. I smiled. He couldn't see it because of a scarf I had around lower part of my face.

"Tomorrow you'll have to find your path or we'll have to go back to the road." I got up to stretch my legs. "I'll be the first to watch. And I'll wake you up in four hours, so don't waste your time."

"Deal." He simply laid on a ground and got his sword closer.

I sat at the rock we were passing by for all day long. Quiet. Peaceful. Sleep well, Gawaine. I saw silhouettes of trees and bushes. Not a sound escaped their leaves. Quiet. Wind calmed down so I lost the hints of a song it carried before. Not an animal dared to wander around our small camp. Quiet. Too Quiet. I was getting suspicious as the feeling of someone's presence came back. Right behind me!

**Sorry guys, it's so short and took me too long to publish! And forgive me for mistakes ^.^**

**I'll try to update as soon as possible! xoxo **


	3. Chapter 3

It was a fairy! Can you believe it! I should have guessed that someone is playing pranks with us tonight.

Of course I realized it all only ten minutes later, after my breathing came back to normal. You actually can be proud of me, not a single scream of horror had escaped my mouth. But I was shocked. Anybody would be shocked if they'd turned around and face to face bumped into a cunning face of fairy. Some of them are quite pretty, even beautiful, but there's such a kind of fairies, scary and cruel. They're having fun while playing savage jokes with human. People are walking in the woods on well known paths, but got lost and wandering around for hours and days. They panic and lose their nerves and eventually some of them die of exhaustion. Those who had survived were found wondering around one small spot of land. They sincerely thought that were lost deep in the forest. And couple of fairies was giggling in the bushes all the time. That was fun for them.

And face of those fairies reflects their tricky nature. Sly smiles and small winking eyes on round pale faces are common for all of their kind. For people they even look alike. For those who are familiar with magic world they are actually alike as well.

So, I was shocked. Seeing big green eyes so close to mine made me fall on my back. The little creature was a size of a baby. It tilted its head and said something with a squeaky voice.

"I don't speak elvish. Sorry." It was all I managed to say ten minutes later. Creature was sitting on a rock now, curiously looking at me. I also was looking at it. Of course I've seen fairies and elves back at home, but they were not interested in human at all and didn't contact with us much. I've forgot about my travel companion. The fairy said something again.

"Alright. No matter what you say…" I nodded. The creature scratched it's head, it was very funny gesture. It didn't look dangerous at all. But I knew the legends and stories about how sly those guys were. I was trying to make up a spell or anything that can help us.

I lifted my hands so fairy could see it.

"I mean no harm to you little one…" _This little one can be a hundred years old_. _Stay calm, don't move sharply. _

I got on my feet. _Think. Think._

In stressful situations all I can think of is food. Food!

_Come here little one, get some food…_ Slowly I reached for my bag and got out a small piece of flat cake. While I was doing it, fairy was pointing his sharp fingers at me. His fingers were twisted in some kind of sign, I think if the creature considered me dangerous some ancient elvish magic would hit me. I wonder why he hadn't performed any craft on me already.

I handed a piece of bread to fairy. It suspiciously looked at it, then straight in my eyes. I shivered.

"I mean no harm. Do you understand?"

The creature tilted it's head.

"Of course you don't."

Unexpectedly fairy jumper and grabbed a piece of bread from my hand. It took him a couple of seconds and fairy was sitting on the stone again. It sniffed the piece and sneezed! Sneezing fairy looks funny. I hope sneezing fairy won't turn into an angry one!

"Eat." I got another piece and put it into my mouth. "Like this."

_I'm sitting in the middle of a forest and showing a fairy how to chew a flat cake. Marvelous! Thanks Goddess, Gawaine doesn't see it. He would have laughed at me…a lot. _

Meanwhile, the fairy licked a piece of bread and then bit it. Next second it spit the food out and sneezed loudly. With the second sneeze it fell from the rock.

_Am I turning into fairy enemy number 1? Kids, remember never to feed fairies with bread. It looks like they are allergic… _

The creature was shaking it's head violently and screeching constantly. _Why the hell Gawaine isn't up yet. So much noise should wake anybody! I hope he's not…_

I remembered how savage fairies can be. Gwaine! I ran to him and shook his shoulder. I hold my breath so not to scream if he was…

_No. don't think of it._

The man was quite cold and slept like a dead. His hand clenched the sword hilt tightly. I laid him on his back.

"C'mon on, wake up…" I started shaking him. He didn't react. I felt fear slowing my mind. The sudden silent attracted my attention. I turned around slowly. Nobody. The fairy's gone. May be it went to clear it's nose and wasn't going to come back anytime soon?

_Ha ha…very funny._

I looked back at Gawaine. He looked as if he was dead.

_Oh, Goddess, bless me._

I closed my eyes and pressed the hands together. Same thing I did every time I healed people. I usually tried to see what the problem was, at first. Now I saw…no, it's more like I felt that Gawaine's heart was still beating. The man was alive but charmed. In such a deep sleep he could spend all his life and wake up as an old, very old man a few seconds before his death. Unless I could help him. There's no difference whether you're healing magical or natural decease. I sat on the ground right next to his body. I took one his hand in mine, closed my eyes. The charm was enmeshing his head and chest. That means fairy had chosen to bind his major qualities – strong mind and kind heart. He was helpless against that charm. I concentrated on the power junctions of a charm. It similar to unbinding the kitten that'd played with threads. I was in a hurry because the fairy was still somewhere near.

My hands were manipulating with threads of natural power, which requires a great deal of concentration which was rudely interrupted by the noisy creature dragging me to the ground. I heard it's voice but it was too late. I hit my back on the ground.

_OUCH!_

That was just the beginning. I couldn't see the fairy but felt it's magic coming from the tops of trees. I sent there a wave of energy that actually turned into a wind. A strong gust of wind. Next second something lifted me up and dropped. Now I fell on my front side. Some invisible power pulled off my hat.

_Perfect. Now I can't see anything because of my hair! _

I got up and turned. Nobody was around. O looked up and heard a happy giggling. It's in trees. Somewhere there…

_if I concentrate then I could feel it's location… OUCH!_

Something pulled up my hair. Now I got really angry. I hate when anybody touches my hair… I felt like my whole body was burning and I sent this heat into the spot where I felt a presence of the fairy. I fell on the ground, again and finally heard a scream full of pain. Sorry little one, I'm quite peaceful person but same time a short-tempered one. I got up on my feet and spread my hands casting a spell, showing that I'm not an ordinary mortal.

"get out of here, by the name of the Goddess! " The fairy was gone. I felt extatic.

_I love magic…I love using my powers… feels like blood is running faster…._

My euphoria was cut by a short gasp. Gawaine! I totally forgot! I fell down on my knees and put one hand on his chest. A wave of warmth covered my body. The charm was almost gone but, I think, leaving the fairy did something to it. And now it was hurting the man. I could sense his pain and horror, he was half conscious.

"Hold on," I whispered to his ear "I'm here."

I don't even know what I did to release him. The charm was fading away and eventually dissipated. Gawaine opened his eyes and stared right at my face. I was breathing heavily and smiling nervously.

"…beautiful…" he breathed out one word as I realized that he saw me without any cover. He saw me.

Next second I stunned him with a spell. 


	4. Chapter 4

Hello-hello! Here comes the new chapter, a bit short but anyway… Enjoy it!

**Chapter 4 "Hiding again!"**

"you must've seen her!" Gawaine was playing on my nerves for a great part of a morning. Since he'd waken up he's talking about that mysterious lady, who'd relieved his pain.

"You had a nightmare; probably because of something you'd eaten last night." I was trying to make him shut up but he wouldn't. I don't know why he's so impressed. Couple of hours after I've stunned him with my spell Gawaine woke up and the very first thing he asked was "where is she?". All he remembered was a stunning horror and pain and images of his friends in anguish. And she stopped didn't see her properly, but the fading image of the lady stuck in his mind for quite a while. I tried to persuade him that it all was a dream but he still was suspicious.

"Gawaine, think. If something had happened, I would have waked you up. Why should I hide from you anything?" I tried to look offended and innocent. That was surprising that he actually remembered the lady. He described me pretty good.

"she was pale with big eyes. I didn't get the colour but they were light. " the sky was of some insane colour. Her hair seemed ginger; she had sparkles in her curls. She was at my side and her expression… I can't believe I made her up." I just gave him a skeptical look. What was he telling about my expression? I had no idea even how I looked at that moment. My only thought was that I didn't want this man to die. Not because I'd fed fairy with some bread. What have he seen on my face?

_Thanks Goddess he didn't notice anything between me hidden in a hat and scarf and his lady. _

We went on. Surprisingly, Gwaine have found the path he'd been looking for yesterday.

_Now I'm sure that fairy was toying with us._ _But it's not a problem anymore. _

It's charm is gone and forest seemed pretty normal and rather friendly. Gawaine finally shut up about his mysterious lady. If only he knew at least a part of true story… He still acted as if I'm his male acquaintance. That's for good.

_We'll part soon and I don't need unnecessary questions. _

It was sunny bright morning, birds were singing and everything seemed so peaceful. But ir only seemed so. All the idyllic picture was destroyed by a big armed guy and his companions.

_Oh, the robbers. Sweet. _

I didn't know what my usual tactics would be in a situation of a robbery, because I've never had one before! I stepped back.

"you have a nice piece of metal here," the robber scowled "give it to me."

Gawaine's eyes narrowed. Next events took a few moments and all I've noticed before Gawaine pushed me down were angry people surrounding us. I fell on the ground and covered my head with my hands. Clanging of swords filled the air. Clanging and hard swearing. I crawled towards the bushes. I needed to think of something to help Gawaine. He might be a skillful fighter but there were too many foes.

_I need to help him… What a hell!_

I almost reached bushes and bumped into something lying there! Something was alive! Something was actually somebody and somebody looked at me surprised! Clanging of swords got louder and closer. So the two of us were lying there and staring as a mocking voice right above said:

"Merlin, can't believe you are hiding again!"

Thanks a lot to all my faithful readers! Nin and I appreciate your attention ^.^

Sorry, new chapter is quite short but next time I'll do my best, and you will see more of Gawaine, Merlin and Arthur.


	5. Chapter 5

New chapter is here! Enjoy it ^.^

**Chapter 5. ****"Does Gawaine know?.."**

"Merlin, I can't believe you're hiding again!"

Dark haired boy with really big ears rolled his eyes.

"My sensibility is unbearable, I know," he said standing up and gave an irritated look to a young knight who had already joined the fight. Gawaine with his help fought back successfully. I got up slowly.

"Watch his back," ordered the dark haired guy getting closer to the fighters. He wasn't armed. I followed his order and looked at Gawaine. He was… handsome. His movements were sharp and fast. His sword was flying with whistling sound. The blond knight joined in rather enthusiastically. In the middle of the fight they turned to each other and Gawaine smiled widely.

_He really smiles a lot. _

They shook hands fast and returned to their opponents. Robbers were not good fighters but there were too much of them. And one of them, he probably thought himself was the smartest, got behind Gawaine's back unnoticed. He raised his sword.

_Oi, I have a déjà vu! Couple of days ago I saved Gawaine in the tavern… He was close to being stabbed in the back. _

Now I was too far and didn't have a bottle to smash on the attacker's head. But I had my power. I didn't have time to cast a spell so I just sent an impulse of energy towards the robber. Oh, didn't I tell you why I'd left my homeland? I left because I'm…well… clumsy. It's bad when you work at a farm or in tavern, but when you have such a great power as I do, your every move can be dangerous. It can be dangerous for you and those who are near.

So now, my wave of energy crashed the near standing tree, instead of hitting the robber.

_Oops…_

The good thing is that tree had buried some of the robbers. The bad thing is that it'd almost hit Gawaine! I ran towards him hoping he's alright.

"Gawaine!"

"Are you…"

"….."

"Oh, I see you're fine if you can swear like that." I grabbed his hand and tried to lift him. He was just a bit battered.

"Lucky you are, my friend," the blond knight came to us. He looked suspiciously at the mysteriously fallen tree.

"What could've made it fall?" he looked around and only then noticed me. He frowned. "Who's your friend here, Gawaine?"

I was nervous.

_Why is he looking at me like it's my fault the tree had fallen? Yeah, I know it's my fault but he doesn't know that, right? _

"That's Nin. He helped me out of trouble, practically saved my life in a bar fight. We're heading to the Camelot. That's good we've met you." Gawaine was leaning on me while I tried to hide somehow behind min from a blond knight's look.

"Saved you, huh?" he smirked. Meanwhile, his dark haired friend was checking the robbers. None of them was conscious.

"No matter what made the tree fall, it was on time," he stood next to us.

"It was a really bad situation, Arthur." Said Gawaine and shook his head lightly. Then he looked at me. He was much taller and I couldn't see him properly with my hat almost covering my eyes. But I saw his gorgeous and sincere smile perfectly.

_He's so totally handsome…wait, WHAT? What a hell am I thinking about? Ninniane, quit it now! _

"Can you stay, now?" I asked and stepped away from him. I immediately bumped into somebody.

"Oh, you again," that was the "hiding" guy.

"Why are you always on my way?" I asked rudely. He looked offended for a bit. "Sorry. All that stress… " I sent him an apologetic look. Meanwhile Gawaine and Arthur examined the tree.

"It's old and dry wood. Somebody could just hit it and it fell." Arthur concluded.

_Lucky I am!_

"So, how had you two met?" the dark haired boy asked me, while leading us to a horses. "I'm Merlin by the way."

"I'm Nin. It's nice to meet you. Gawaine and I were attending the same tavern when he had some kind of a conflict. I interfered, so now I'm wondering around the forest with three strangers and fighting robbers."

This Merlin had some kind of a charm, I felt very comfortable near him.

"How do you know Gawaine?"

"Well, you'll be surprised but Arthur and I had met him in a tavern…"

"No," I laughed, "he has a thing for taverns, I guess."

"The second time I've met him, Gawaine was thrown out of a tavern near Camelot as well!"

"Sweet," I looked at Gawaine walking in front of me and explaining something to Arthur.

"Merlin, you and Arthur… Hold on. You are the Merlin!" I stared at lanky lop-eared and rather harmless looking fellow. "You're his beat friend. Gawaine had told me some stories of your adventures."

Merlin smiled shyly. "He's one of my best friends too. I know I can always rely on him."

_What a nice man is this Gawaine… brave, funny, loyal….Oi! Stop that. Stop these thoughts! Don't you act like a silly little princess, who meets a knight for the first time. You're a grown up smart ex-princess and he's not a knight! Knights don't mess up in taverns…Oh; I'm talking to myself just like my mom… I think too much of Gawaine and I need to think of my own safety. Where to go now? Camelot is the worst place for…_

My thoughts were interrupted with a hard hit. That was my face hitting ground. Just perfect. Lost in thoughts, i didn't notice a root of a tree and fell.

"Careful…" Merlin helped me get up. Arthur and Gawaine seemed to notice nothing, they were deep into conversation.

"Are you alright?" Merlin asked.

"yeah…" I tried to make a step and wrinkled with pain. "No. my ankle. I twisted it."

_Bad. Bad. Bad._

"Lean on my arm. Now try not to step on this leg." Merlin was holding me. What a nice guy.

"Do you always space out like this while walking?"

"No."

"Do you know where we are going?"

"Yes, Camelot."

"Does your ankle hurt?"

"Yes!" I was distracted by this pain actually.

"Does Gawaine know you're a girl?"

"No."

"Do you often show your power to strangers?"

"No."

_Ouch, that hurts… why's he talking all the time? Questions, questions…who cares about our destination or what does Gawaine knows or what I do with my powe…WHAT? _

I stopped and looked at Merlin with despair. He knew.

_What's worse: him knowing about my power or him knowing I'm a girl?.. Questions, questions… If he tells Gawaine or Arthur about my magic what they will do?.. don't wanna know…_

"Hey, don't worry. Your secret is safe with me. Or better to say your secrets." He smiled at me and his eyes flashed.

_No way… a wizard… _

I couldn't believe my luck. I just stared at Merlin in shock.

"Merlin! Why have you stuck? Move!" Arthur shouted. He had just noticed that we were not following him. Gawaine looked back worried.

"Come on." Merlin helped me to reach the horses and climb in saddle. "Nin twisted his ankle."

"Gawaine, you sit behind Nin and go to Camelot. Merlin and I have some business to finish. Ask Gaius to check up his ankle. " Arthur took off a bag from my horse's saddle.

"Are you sure you don't want me to go with you?" Gawaine frowned. "Merlin can bring Nin to Camelot."

"no, it's time for him to stop hiding and do some man's job." Arthur said and Merlin rolled his eyes.

_That Arthur is annoying and arrogant. Why does Merlin help him?.._

"Yeah, right," Gawaine smirked and easily jumped on a saddle. He sat really, I mean _really_, close to me. He took the reins and looked at Arthur and Merlin once again. "I'll sent Leon and Lancelot to you anyway. Don't go in alone."

Merlin smiled and nodded to him. Then he waved to me. I smiled back still a bit stunned with my discovery. Just two minutes later when Arthur and Merlin were far behind I turned to Gawaine and asked:

"What's going on? Where are they going?" my companion was worried. He just sent the horse faster and without looking at me he said:

"Those two are always getting into trouble. But they always manage to stay alive."

"We need to go back. They helped you…us. Why do we leave now?"

"I rely on Merlin's sensibility. He will keep Arthur away until knights will come." I felt his eyes on me. "and you're injured, so you won't be able to help anyway."

_Oh, dear Gawaine, you haven't the slightest idea of what I can do. Have I just thought "dear Gawaine"?..Oh, it's a bad sign… I can't be falling for him, can I?_

* * *

**Wow! My longest chapter so far! Hope you like it. Sorry for spelling!**

**Thanks a lot for those who reviewed my story, it really means a lot for me! xoxo**


	6. Chapter 6

Hi, guys! I'm still there! Here comes the new chapter (finally!), but it's a bit too short (oops!). Hope you'll enjoy it!

**Chapter 6**

**The Camelot.**

We've finally reached the Camelot. On our way to the castle I noticed that people were looking at us, some of them even smiled at Gawaine. I feel like he is a big figure here.

He didn't say a word to me for a while. Something was worrying him, that was obvious. He refused to tell me where Merlin and Arthur went. I can't say that I was very interested anyway. Let men do their business, come to Camelot, fix my ankle as soon as possible and say "bye-bye, Gawaine". Sounds like a good plan to me.

For now I can just enjoy the ride and lean on Gawaine's broad chest. Hmm…

_Wait. Do not distract yourself with all those thoughts about him. He's not your type, Nin. Just…just think about the flowers! Or the branches of trees, or that heart-shaped cloud… Hey… _

We've approached towards a castle as I saw a young woman running out of it. I guess, her broad smile made Gawaine smirk. He stopped the horse and dismounted

"Gawaine!" cried the woman and hugged him. Being strong, he lifted her and began to whirl.

"Put me down right now!" she laughed and hugged him lightly once again. "I'm so glad you're back and fine."

"You have no idea how glad I am to be back at home," he smiled kindly at a woman.

I wouldn't have interrupted them but the damn animal I was still sitting on shivered and made some scary noise. I grabbed the rains desperately. I think it was my nervous shriek that interrupted the sweet reunion of Gawaine and his lady. (_Well, I thought she was something like his lady that time)._

"I guess you'd better to come down, Nin." Gawaine helped me to dismount. "Let me introduce you to a dear friend of mine – Guinevere."

"Just call me Gwen," the tanned woman smiled at me and, you know, she looked pretty friendly. So I smiled back. "Welcome to Camelot."

"Nin helped me and he hot injured…"

"It's nothing serious," I mumbled.

"… so Arthur suggested me to bring him here, so Gaius could treat him. Now, I need you to tell me where to find Leon and Lancelot. I don't want Merlin to get hurt because of some weird idea of our 'lord'," Gawaine led me towards the castle, still holding me tight. Actually, the ankle wasn't so bad but I didn't try to walk myself. What for if I can have him helping me?..

"Lancelot is in a stable and Leon took young knights and soldiers for training outside the castle," said Gwen. She looked worried now. "I will show Nin to the Gaius chambers and you go find Lancelot. I will also send someone to sir Leon. He'll be back as soon as possible."

"No, don't send for him. We won't need all the knights. I'll get Lancelot," said Gawaine and looked at me. "Stay with Gwen, she'll show you around. When I'll come back we have something to talk about."

_Ouch, that sounds dangerous. What is it you want to talk about, dear Gawain?.. _

"Alright, I'll wait." _Uh-huh. Dream on. I must disappear from this place as soon as possible. _

Gawaine nodded to Gwen and left us in the corridor of a castle.

"So, let me help you. Nin, right? You have a very interesting name."

"Yeh, my mom said the same." I tried to sound more harsh, so Gwen not to suspect I'm a girl.

"Where are you from, Nin? And how did you manage to end up with Gawaine?"

"Well…it's a long story, a really long one. Being short, I'm from a distant village and I met Gawaine in a tavern where he was…"

"Oh, let me guess, he was starting a fight? That man's always the same."

"Well…I'm not sure who started the fight but it apparently took place."

We've reached a wooden door and Gwen knocked twice. I heard some noise behind it and when the door was open I saw an old man with almost white hair and a bowl of something nasty smelling in his hand.

"Gaius, I'm sorry for interrupting your experiments, but I've got a patient for you."

**AN: thank you all who keeps reading the Untitled Gawaine project and I'm so sorry for not posting it for such a long time!**

**From now on, I'll do my best to publish new chapters more often and I'll try to make them interesting and worth reading.**

**xoxo**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 **

"**questions, questions…"**

"There's nothing serious with your ankle, child," old man, who turned out to be a healer, examined my leg and bandaged it. "Still, avoid putting too much pressure on it."

He got up and went to his table. I looked around the room. It was just a regular room of a servant in a castle. You may ask, how I know, what the servant's room in a castle looks like. Well, I have an experience of living in one of those old buildings with a high stone wall and cold dark corridors. Not the best experience, though.

The room was full of books, dried plants and suspicious bottles. There were two beds and a big table covered with manuscripts and some equipment I didn't know.

"What is your name, again, child?" the old man, Gaius, was already absorbed in his work.

"It's Nin," I said, standing up and heading to the window. I stood up on a bench and looked outside. I saw the rooftops a small square. I heard people's voices, probably from the market, which was not too far from the castle's walls. "You have a pretty nice place there, this Camelot place."

"Oh, yeas, it's nice. It's nice and big and noisy. Sometimes too noisy… but never boring."

_Huh…I like boring. Boring is usually safe._

"Nin, I guess you can stay in one of the servants' rooms. Come on, I'll show you. You can have some rest before Gawaine and Arthur will be back. I believe, the Prince will be glad to talk to a boy, who saved one of his Knights." Gwen motioned to me to follow her.

"wait…the prince? Is he?.. He is… He can't be!"

"So I see you've already met Arthur… he always makes this wrong first impression." Gwen sighed lighly and nodded her head.

"And the Knight… so Gawaine is…a Knight of a Camelot. A noble man…" _Surprise- Surprise, Nin…_

"He is, indeed."

"Gwen…what was a noble man, a Knigh even!, doing in a tavern, all alone? Fighting all those people, wandering around the forest with me?"

"Oh, Nin, that's… that's Gawaine. He and his nobility are in a rather weird relationship. But he's a decent man. And he likes good booze. So, he always ends up in some tavern. That's how they've met with Merlin and Arthur. What a funny story that was!"

"Uh, Gawaine told me about it. I guess that day changed their lives…"

"So, here's the room for you. I'll get you some clean clothes; let me take a look at you." Gwen turned me around and looked all over.

_I'm a boy, I'm a boy, I'm a young boy…don't notice that I look too small and slender for a man… I'm a teenager…_

"I need to go, but I'll be back soon and show you around! Now, rest."

Gwen left the room and I just fall on a small bed which actually took almost all the space. Ouch, that was hard. But after sleeping on a tree roots I was glad to be able to stretch my legs and just relax.

_So, what to do next? Grab my stuff and run away right now, while nobody's looking after me? I can do it even with my twisted ankle without any problem… Gwen said that knights and soldiers were out training, so nobody will pay attention to me wandering around… Another option is to stay there, rest, sleep, eat, and wait for Gawaine to come back and start that talk of his… Hmm…could he had noticed me casting a spell or doing something else involving magic? How will he react? Oh, come on, why do I care about his reaction?_

_And, by the way, that Merlin guy… I don't mind hanging out with someone of my kind. How did he manage to survive in magic-hating Camelot, anyway? _

_What will Gwen think of me if I leave right now, without saying "bye-bye, Gwen"?.._

_What's that Gawaine wanted to talk to me about?.._

_Questions…_

_Why was the Prince of Camelot wandering around the forest?.._

_Questions, questions…_

_Why do I feel so tired?.._

_Oh, right, we had a fight in a forest… I used my powers, I use it pretty much since I've met Gawaine…_

I was drifting away and all the decisions will be made later. Now, it's time to rest.

_Gawaine?.. _


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

_I closed my eyes and relaxed my body, every part of it, and one by one. Singing of birds filled my ears. I made a deep breath and smelled a sweet scent. Oh, I remember that scent too well. I grew up among the flowers that smell this way. My sisters used to put them in their hair, they were beautiful, my sisters. Well, I believe they still are beautiful, I just haven't seen them for a while. _

_I felt a naughty ray of sunlight on my face. It was warm and tender I felt safe and completely calm. Time was moving slowly or may be not moving at all. Birds were chatting about some stuff, nothing really important. _

_I tried to feel forest around me as deep as possible, to feel its voice, its power and life. One moment I heard a knot cracking and then quiet footsteps. Someone was walking carefully around the forest, close to the place I was occupying. _

_I opened my eyes and saw waves of grey sea. The unexpected change of scenery didn't surprise me at all. It felt so natural to be on the edge of the cliff, inhaling the freshness and saltiness of air. It was only grey of the sea, green of the short grass and black of the ground under my feet. _

_I looked at the horizon and next moment realized that somebody was standing behind me. I turned around and sun hit my eyes so all I could see was a silhouette of a tall person. I covered my eyes with left hand and when I opened eyes again he was gone. It was just a moment and he disappeared, as well as grass and sea and horizon. All I saw was just a chamber in Camelot. _

_Well, that's a good morning, Nin. What a weird dream. Uh…_

I got up and found a pile of clothing lying on my bed. Perhaps Gwen came in while I was asleep and left it for me.

_Let's see what we have here…. Oh, I nice piece of dress. How surprising… so she got that I'm not a teenager. What should I do now?.._

Well, my old clothes stinks, maybe it's time to change my outfit as well as my legend.

_Now, Nin, you need to make up a pretty story that explains why you were pretending to be a boy…_

The dark green plain dress fit me well, oh and I had finally got rid of my favorite hat. I actually put it deep in my bag, some day I may need it again. There were no mirrors in the room so I went out to find one and check my new appearance. It turned out that I slept for a great deal of a day and now it was dark outside.

The corridors were empty so I was just wandering around the castle until I got completely lost.

The place was not actually nice in the lights of torches. Shadows on the walls of Camelot played their games with my imagination. Several times I thought that someone was following me. Finally, I gave up searching for a way. I end up on a narrow corridor from where I could see eastern part of Camelot, the rooftops and market. The sky was dark blue and air around me got colder. I was watching people closing shops and going home. They were laughing, chatting. I didn't hear someone approaching me and only his voice attracted my attention when he asked:

"Why is such a beautiful lady all alone this late?"

I turned around and saw Gawaine leaning on a corner and attentively looking at me. He had this grin on his lips and a second later he approached me. I was speechless.

_Wha… who….how… oh… don't come closer, please, don't come closer.._

Then I noticed a glimpse of recognition in his eyes and hurried to hide my eyes and face. I looked away.

"I was just looking…looking for somebody, maybe Gwen, yes, I'm looking for Gwen." My voice was trembling but I didn't move away when he got closer. He was still wearing the same outfit I last saw him in.

"So, Lady Gwen hid from me such a sweet guest of the castle. What a shame. Please, don't look away, somehow I feel I know you…"

I shivered nervously and glanced at him. He stopped smiling and stared at me. I stared back and tried to seem brave.

"Now I see, I really saw you… I just don't remember where! I'd bet you're not the frequent visitor of taverns, are you?"

"Well, no, I'm not."

_I need to get out of this situation. He knows he saw me somewhere, but doesn't remember for sure… that's a good sign!_

"May be you could show me the way so I wouldn't get lost again?" I smiled sweetly.

"Of course, m'lady. Please, follow me."

He led me with confidence through all those corridors. Soon we reached the big well lit hall. Gawaine boldly went right to the throne that was surrounded by several people. I thought of leaving the hall while everybody were occupied but my attempt of escape was noticed by Gwen who suddenly appeared in the hall. She smiled and approached me.

"Well, you look wonderful. This dress suits you more than your previous outfit, don't you think so?" Gwen smiled slyly.

What could I say? In the dress I felt unprotected, as if everybody knew who I really was. That was not safe for me, not safe at all.

"Come on, I'm going to introduce you to rest of the Knights and Arthur is willing to talk to you."

She took my hand and led me towards the throne. I can't say I was happy about it, but it's too late to run. Men at the throne were talking about something, among them I noticed Merlin. He noticed me too and smiled kindly. Arthur saw it and looked at me rather surprised. His men still kept talking and when Gwen tactfully attracted their attention all five of them turned and stared. At me.

_Oh, my Goddess… what am I doing?... _

"It's a pleasure to see you here, my lady." Arthur smiled and nodded.

"Pleasure is all mine." I smiled and tried to make a bow.

"Let me introduce my Knights, sir Lancelot" a handsome man looked at me with interest and nodded, "sir Percival," a very tall and muscular man smiled at me kindly, "sir Leon," what a serious look he has, that knight, he's probably the oldest. "And you already know sir Gawaine."

Gawaine, meanwhile, started conversation with Merlin and lost half of what his Prince had said.

"…found her in the corridor… why nobody told me?..."

"Gawaine…"

"I need to talk to Nin, anyway. What? Why are you staring at me?"

"Gawaine…"

"Wha…"

"Let me introduce you a friend of Gawaine, who saved his life, actually," Arthur motioned towards me, "Lady Nin."

Gawaine finally looked at me. And according to his expression I can say that he remembered where he had seen me before.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9. **"We talk now."**

"Ninianne, my prince. My full name is Ninianne."

The rest of the night was less eventful. We had a dinner, chatted friendly and nobody asked a question why I pretended to be a boy. Nobody even mentioned it. _Well, I don't mind._ And they cook well here in Camelot. I may even consider staying here… for some time.

Dinner was over and men went to discuss some important business, something of Camelot's security as I got it.

_No, I didn't overhear them, they just talk loud enough for me to hear, so what?.. Gawaine, though was rather quiet tonight and he didn't make an impression of a quiet man. Something is wrong…_

And I was right when suspected that Gawaine has something on his mind.

I told Gwen that I still feel tired and need a proper rest and tomorrow I'll tell her how I end up in the tavern dressed up as a boy (this woman is curious, she won't get off me). When I left the hall one of the knights, sir Lancelot, glanced at me. Oh, I didn't like the glance; I'd better lock the room tonight. He might think that I'm dangerous. Or maybe he's just jealous, I saw him looking at Merlin, who was extremely cheerful tonight and chatted with me a lot.

_Oh, Merlin! Thank you Goddess, that you let me meet him on my way. Somehow I feel that we have a lot in common and I can always have his support. I hope I could do the same._

So, when I left the hall I found myself in one of those long and dark corridors of Camelot. All alone. I should've asked someone to walk me to my room.

I tried to remember the way back. When I turned around the corner I almost bumped into him. I felt that was coming. Gawaine frowned at me and folded his arms. I tried to smile but he looked so serous that my smile died in the very beginning.

"Do you want to tell me anything?"

_Ho, my… I'm not prepared for this kind of talk… dear, Gawaine, please… right! I need to seem niceand sweet, may be he'll give up? _

I put on the sweetest face I could and tried to pass by Gwaine's large frame.

"It's so late, can we talk tomorrow?.."

As I was right next to him, he grabbed my shoulder and pressed me to the wall. He was strong, that Knight. And he was mad at me. Oh, I'd bet you were never squished between the cold stony wall and a hot muscular man. What an Experience!

"We talk now."

_Oh…._

I swallowed nervously. He's mad at me for my outrageous lie. He trusted Nin, a boy who saved his life, and now he gets Ninianne, unknown girl who told him lies.

_I feel guilty. Why the hell, does that man makes me feel guilty? _

"I… Gawaine, I'm sorry."

"for what?"

"For not telling you the truth, but…please understand. This was important. This IS important for me and my survival. "

I was till pressed to the wall and felt the heat from his body. He was probably too close but I didn't feel like keeping a distance from him…

_Hey, Nin, don't tell me you like being this way?.. his face so close…his eyes, oh, those eyes…they seem dark when he's mad… but still he looks so…handsome. Stop it! Stop looking at me this close!_

"Pretending to be someone else and sneaking into my home was so important for your survival?"

I felt the adrenalin (oh, I hope that was adrenalin) rushing through my body. My cheeks flushed and my heart was racing. He had a right to be mad at me but he had to give me a chance to explain. And then I did it.

I stepped forward. This small step made me even closer to him; it seemed as if he didn't expect it but he stood still. He stood still with his hands at my sides pressing the wall so I was in a circle of his arms and so close that I almost touched his ear. I whispered.

"You want to talk. Then let me tell you the truth."

_I feel so brave…but my knees are weak… and it's getting hotter here…_

"I need air," I whispered desperately and dived under his left arm and almost ran towards the end of corridor.

"Exit is the other way." I heard him saying and going away.

I followed Gawaine, a stranger who influenced me more than any other man I've met before. He made me feel guilt. I've never felt this way because of my deceit. I knew it was necessary. But here, in Camelot, the place where magic is forbidden and no magical creatures threaten me, here I can stop hiding.

We entered the same terrace he met me earlier. I inhaled and started my story. Nobody else before and after Gawaine has heard the full truth, well maybe except Merlin, but that's Merlin.

The day I was born a great storm covered Avalon. My Godmother later said that was a sign. The sign that everybody ignored than but remembered later. I was a happy child, I was loved. And luckily I wasn't spoiled. I learned healing and herbs from my mother and ancient magic from my father. Avalon was a perfect place for a young witch to live until I turned fifteen. That's when it all begun. I was one of the best but every day the spells I performed turned out to hurt rather than help. I still knew how to use herbs to heal different creatures. Unfortunately the spells and curses I casted caused too much trouble. On my sixteenth birthday a storm happened again. And that's in Avalon, where the weather is always calm! This time a caused the storm, well, it was an accident. I lost control and destroyed an ancient temple. Thanks, Goddess, nobody died! But I was supposed to be punished. My parents, they begged not to imprison me. And Vivianne, the Priestess, agreed to change the punishment. They should've deprived me from my power. They had to take it from me. So I could stay on the Avalon but as a human, without power, without protection. And my friends they looked at me with fear and scorn. Yeas, I messed up. But I had a choice. And I escaped. I'm forbidden to Avalon for the rest of my days. They were searching for me, because Vivianne believed I was dangerous for everyone and for myself. But I can control myself as long as I don't use my magical power. They can still search for me to get rid of the danger, but here in Camelot there's no magic that can expose me unless I do it myself. And I have no intention to do so, because I'm tired, Gawain. I'm tired of hiding and moving all the time. Besides… there are people who I don't want to put in danger, so I have no intentions …

Then my voice died. I have never told anyone the whole story how I end up here. It was hard. It was private. I still felt bad because of what I did.

"What did you do here all those years? How many years by the way?"

"I left Avalon three years ago. I was travelling. I saw shores of Ireland and Scottish Highlands. I healed people, that what I can do well. No active magic, just herbs and charms and potions."

"And you dress up as a boy, so.."

"It's easier to travel this way. When you're young and female you have certain problems with moving around."

"Why did you agree to come here? You know the Camelot is a bad place for witches and wizards. Especially after what Morgana and Morgausa did to the King and the Kingdom." Gawaine turned his face to me and watched attentively.

"Right, Morgausa, she'd always been troublesome…"

"You know her?" the Knight grabbed my shoulders again. I looked him in the eyes. I felt exhausted. I never thought that it might take so much of my emotions to remember it all. I felt like a rag doll in Gawaine's hands. He noticed that. He relaxed his hands and stopped frowning.

"I can assure you that I have nothing to do with Morgausa. She was banished from Avalon long before I went troublesome, and I haven't seen her since."

"If anyone here learns that you are a witch, no matter practicing or not, you will burn. Noone will be able to help you, not even me. Don't put yourself in danger."

"So you won't tell?.."

Gawaine stroke my arms gently, he was standing close again.

"You saved my life, even several times. That were you in the woods, I remembered when saw you in the proper lighting."

I smiled weakly. "besides, I can't let Arthur burn someone as charming as you."

I blushed, my head was spinning and sir Gawaine told I'm charming…

_Are you flirting with me, dear Gawaine?.. after all I told you 'bout myself?.._

"I'll show you to your room, so you don't get lost again." Gawaine took my hand and led me. _Perhaps he's like this with every woman? He's totally a ladies' man. but I confessed him in being a witch. Why am I so reckless? _

"Well, sweet dreams, lady Ninianne." Said Gawain and gently kissed my hand.

"Good night, sir Gawaine."

**AN: sooo, this is the largest chapter so far… I feel exhausted but happy. Forgive me for spelling mistakes, my eyes are tired and don't want to see properly **

**I hope you like this chapter; we finally have a secret of Nin's masquerade revealed. And a little spoiler, next chapter: Gawaine's opinion on the problem.**

**Thank you all for reviews and kind words!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10. "Good night, sir Gawaine."**

What a good day that was. The one when I've met Nin. He's a nice fellow and helped me when he didn't have to. And eventually "he" turned out to be "her". And rather beautiful "her".

She told me the whole story and I stopped considering her being a threat for the Kingdom. Yes, yes, earlier I thought she did that entire masquerade thing to get into the Camelot and do some witchy stuff. Now, when Uther is no longer a fearsome king of Camelot, something is going to change. I mean, Arthur is more tolerant to people. This place is never going to be the same again.

Well, until they let me visit taverns for the expense of new King I'll stay and keep the place safe.

I left Nin's room and immediately bumped into Lancelot. He was deep in his thoughts. When he realized whose room I'd just left he rolled his eyes.

"Seriously? How long do you know her? Wait, that's none of my business."

"Hey, we've been through a lot together, and that makes people closer, you know?" I joked and snapped his shoulder. "What's bothering you?"

Lancelot shook his head.

"I'm thinking about what Arthur said at the meeting. About those artifacts that can be helpful for us." We moved on and soon entered the half lit dining hall. "I doubt that it's safe to bring them here. I don't want to sound paranoid but after all that story with Morgausa and Morgana…after all we've been through… is it safe to use the weapon of our enemy to protect ourselves?"

We watched servants cleaning the hall. I understood why Lancelot was so worried. He suffered a lot from the deeds of the witches. And now, Arthur offered us to use the magical artifacts to protect our land. It was a weird suggestion from the man whose father destroyed everything magical. Arthur had read about the artifacts in one of the books hidden in his father's library. I had no idea why would Uther keep this kind of book. Anyway, now we were supposed to collect the magical thing and bring them to Camelot.

"Lancelot, man, I get what you mean. I'm not happy about this entire search for artifacts either. But Arthur, and what is important – Merlin, believe that it will bring us some good. Besides, magic is not always evil."

_For example I know one cute witch that saved my life couple of times… _

"Hope you're right. So, tomorrow you're going to start the search again? I've heard the last place you checked was empty." Lancelot looked at me, still not convinced with my words.

_Merlin is the only one who can convince him…he or Gwen._

It was late and I had a long and difficult day ahead so I decided to reunite with mi bed as soon as possible. All the thoughts about Nin, artifacts, Lancelot and taverns had to wait. I fell asleep the second my head touched the pillow.

_The fog was so thick that I could almost cut it with a knife. I've never seen anything like this in my life. I've heard muffled voices of Percival and Lancelot. They were standing back to back with me. Fog surrounded us. We froze. I couldn't see or hear much. _

'_T was a bad idea…' _

'_Told ya…'_

'_Quiet… I've heard something! '_

_There was another muffled sound besides our voices. I couldn't hear it properly. A whisper of the wind? But there was no wind. At all. The place was completely still. Suddenly, the fog around us started freezing. I couldn't explain it but the temperature went down, I could see my breath freezing. _

'_What a hell is going on?..'_

'_It's getting transparent!.. I can see my legs now…' _

_I looked down and noticed that fog is not so thick anymore. I could see my legs, ground and grass covered with ice._

'_We gotta move… I can see the way now…'_

_I followed Lancelot while the fog got more and more transparent. Soon we saw silhouettes of big stones standing in front of us. I prepared to face the enemy, if any were hiding there. A shady figure came from behind of a stone. _

'_Gawaine, thanks Goddess… are you…'_

_She was interrupted by a whistling sound and a felt a movement behind my back. I turned around. Percival wasn't there._

'_GET INSIDE!' she yelled. I pushed Lancelot behind the stone and felt something cold covering my back and legs. Another sharp movement and I fell on the ground. All I could hear was her fading call._

'_Gawaine!'_

"Gawaine!"

I jumped slightly, rolled over and fell from my bed. Next second I was on my feet shaking violently. Merlin stood beside me with a concerned look on his face. I slowly realized that I was back in my room, sun was shining through the window, it was warm and safe.

"I have no idea what you dreamt about, but our nuisance of a King wishes to talk to you right now about the new destination of the search."

"Damn it, Merlin… that was..weird."

"When I came in you were barely breathing. And your skin was ice cold. Do you want to tell me what was that? What did you dream about?"

"Don't think so. Tis just a nightmare. So, where is my breakfast?"

"I hope this time we will be lucky. The artifact is hidden in the abandoned temple not far from this small village in the North of the forest. You have two days to get there, find the artifact and come back. If you're not back we'll send help."

Arthur gave me instructions and showed a drawing of an artifact I was looking for. It was a plate or something like that made of metal or stone. The drawing was old and not actually good. Couldn't they choose a better artist to do it?

"And, to make sure that you won't end up in another tavern instead of doing the job, Lancelot and Percival will go with you this time."

"Arthur, come on… Am I getting this predictable?" I laughed.

"Don't worry Gawaine. We've got your back covered," Lancelot smiled but I could see his look still being serious.

_We've got your back covered… is it like in standing- back- to- back- surrounded- by- mysterious- and- dangerous- fog way? Hope it was not a prophetic dream…_

**Hi, guys!**

**What's up?**

**Sorry for the long wait, but here's new chapter, as I promised it's from Gawaine's point of view. Hope you'll enjoy it!**

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**Peace! **


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Nin's POV

"So, you believe it can be a trap or something?" I looked at Merlin who was packing rapidly. He had just grabbed me and shoved into his room. According to his story, Arthur was sending the knights on another mission in search for an artifact. And our favourite servant – wizard had a bad feeling about it.

"I may be imagining things but I don't want to risk ignoring it…"

"Are you planning to go with them? What does Arthur thinks of it?"

I was sitting on Merlin's bed and watching him pacing nervously. Merlin was a good person, kind and trustworthy, he cared deeply about his friends. I wish I could be considered his friend one day.

"Actually, I haven't told him yet," Merlin looked at me. "Do you think this whole idea with artifacts worth it?"

I shrugged my shoulders. Artifacts were objects filled with magic and power; they were mostly used by those who possessed no magic themselves. Nowadays there were no magic in Camelot (at least officially), so they might use some artifacts for protection. There is always some trick though. One can never know the strength of an artifact or the kind of magic in it.

"You, guys, need to be careful with it anyway," Merlin sat next to me on the bed. "Even if you find something, you'll need someone who knows how the things work."

Merlin sighed heavily.

"I believe you can do that," I said tapping him on the shoulder. "You have it in you. Magic, you know. And you have me… well, just in case."

Merlin smiled at me. This very moment the door flew open and Gawaine entered the room.

"Merlin, friend, Arthur is on the rampage for his servant isn't beside him. The nuisance wants you to help him dress up for some official occasion. Seriously, man! Can't he dress himself?" only after finishing his speech Gawaine spotted me in the room with Merlin. He froze and stared at me.

"Um… hello there," I smiled and stood up. "I guess your king needs you now. We can finish the conversation later. See you, Merlin."

I was about to leave the room, Gawaine stood still and glared at Merlin.

_Come on, girl, don't be a sissy… tell him… _

"Gawaine," I looked back at him. "Good luck with your trip. And be careful."

_Seriously, couldn't I think of something more trivial to say?.. oh, whatever…_

After Nin left Merlin told Gawain that he was going to accompany them to their destination.

"Someone has to look after you, you – Knights are like children at times," Said Merlin

"Just don't forget to tell Arthur, he seems to act like a child all the time. And who made him the King?" Gawaine flopped down the bed.

"erm… the Knights helped a lot with that…"

"Oh, right!"

Merlin rolled his eyes with irritation.

"So…" Gawain sat up and looked at his friend.

"So?.." Merlin raised his eyebrow suspiciously.

"What was Nin doing here? You two seem to be on a pretty friendly terms," Gawain looked at Merlin curiously.

"Yeas, we have a lot in common and she's actually nice… why are you asking?"

"No reason," Gawaine got up and stole an apple from Merlin's bag.

"Yeah, sure," Merlin smiled mischievously. "Absolutely no reason."

"Hey, I mean it!"

Two hours later Lancelot, Percival and Gawaine were ready to leave the castle but Merlin was nowhere to be seen. Stable boy prepared the fourth horse.

"We can't wait any longer. The sooner we leave, the sooner we'll come back. I don't want to wander around the forest at night." Gawaine was fond of proper bed, although he got used to sleeping on the ground.

Meanwhile, Merlin was in Nin's room, trying to persuade her to accompany the knights.

"Arthur said that they can manage without me, besides he needs me here for some case of national importance or something."

"Well then, if it's a case of national importance then I can't refuse. What do you expect me to do with them?"

"Just look after them, they may need some magical support."

***  
Nin's POV  
So, there we were, on the road, three merry Knights and me. After five hours on the horseback I began doubting Merlin's sanity. How can I look after three big guys with the swords? I might turn out to be a liability to them.

For now everything went smooth and quiet. We galloped through the village without a stop. Of course, Gawaine offered to stay at the tavern for an hour, to give horses some rest but Lancelot and I refused unanimously. Percival just laughed kindly.

The weather slowly began deteriorating an hour later. The dark heavy clouds covered the sky. Rain began several minutes later.

"The temple is in the forest. We leave horses here and continue on foot," Lancelot dismounted, Percival and Gawaine followed him. I pulled my hood on and shivered. The rain was getting stronger and cold gusty wind didn't add any comfort.

"How about a short break?" offered Gawaine.

"We could use some rest," I supported the idea. I felt dizzy from a long ride. I couldn't even dismount myself.

_If I try, I fall immediately… _

As if reading my mind, Gawaine came up to my horse and helped to dismount. I definitely blushed as he held me tight and lifted off the animal.

_Horses are nice, but from the distance. Gawaine is nice from any distance…_

"Thank you …" I looked at him feeling unsteady ground under my feet. "I'm not used to this…"

"I should give you some horse riding lessons, someday," Gawaine smirked.

_Sure… someday_ …

"Alright, let's move a little bit further and have a break then," said Lancelot

Three knights and a witch in disguise went deep into the forest. The rain got heavier but thick brunches of trees more or less covered the travelers. Soon among the trees I spotted some building or a stone wall. We approached what turned out to be a group of large rocks standing in a circle. I saw something similar back home but those rocks seemed really old and no one used them for a long time. I felt the place was abandoned and rested for a while from human presence.

"Looks like a perfect place for a halt!" announced Lancelot. I dropped my bag on the grass and looked around. What I saw surprised me: Gawain was looking at the group of stones with disbelief and caution.

"Gawaine, what's wrong?" I asked and he looked at me with a hint of a terror in his eyes. 


End file.
